It’s been a long time since I tracked travel expenses for the points and miles blog Travel is Free (a blog I helped maintain in the 2010s). The motivation for this was to demonstrate how a nomadic life using points and miles could be just as cheap as a stationary life in the US. The experiment was overall successful and also gave me a better awareness of costs from one destination to the next.
In this post I’ll outline some of the destinations I found more or less expensive than expected for the on-the-ground expenses. After all, even if you’ve already covered your flights and hotels with miles and points, as they say, “man cannot live on club lounge-canapés alone”.
Inexpensive travel destinations (that we pretty much all know by now)
It’s more or less common knowledge by now that Southeast Asia, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe can be incredibly affordable for travelers, which is part of why these destinations are so popular for digital nomads. (It can be so cheap in fact that it’s sometimes worth just paying cash for your lodging and saving your points for the expensive destinations referenced later.)
With most of these more or less known already, I won’t spend a lot of time on this point. However, here’s a quick summary of inexpensive travel destinations:
- Pretty much all of Asia except for Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, which are a bit more mid-level
- Eastern Europe, especially the less buzzy destinations like Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, and Georgia, and even Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary to an extent as well
- Pretty much all of Mexico and Central and South America
Now what about the especially expensive destinations?
Destinations I found more expensive than expected
Some of these are more surprising than others. I knew Western Europe would be expensive, for example, but I wasn’t expecting all of these. I’ll start with the least surprising.
- Western Europe (especially Switzerland, for example)
Much of Europe is pretty comparable to the US in terms of day-to-day costs, but a few destinations kick it up a notch. When I stayed at the InterContinental Davos on points, I remember loving the hotel itself and the ski town where it sits, but I did not love spending $17 on a slice of pizza from a corner store for dinner. (And that was 12 years ago – who know show much that pizza costs today!) I’ve heard that Iceland, Denmark, and Norway are similar, but believe it or not, I have not been there yet and can’t share my own insights on that. - United States
The United States were always a budget guzzler during my nomad days, largely because of the lack of public transportation, and how remote the different sites on a travel itinerary can be. Where Western Europe may have equally expensive food and park fees, you often don’t have to rely solely on car rentals and Ubers like you might in the United States. And while some cities have public transportation systems that can take you from the airport into the city center, this is definitely not a given for every major city. Yes groceries are expensive here too, but I think it’s the on-the-ground transit that makes the US so expensive to travel in. - African safari destinations
Even though my crew and I chose the self-drive approach for our safari in Masai Mara, the park entry itself is still pretty expensive: $100 per adult per day from January 1st – June 30th and $200 per adult per day from July 1st – Dec 31st. Not to mention, many African safari destinations don’t really have much of a budget traveler infrastructure. That means there are not a lot of budget lodging options to choose from, especially for the National Park and Safari destinations. (You can read about Tim’s visit to the JW Marriott Masai Mara here.) Similarly, there’s no great budget transportation option to the National Parks and Wildlife Parks either. (Many locals in the Masai Mara region for example rely on hitch hiking to get from town to town.) Typically, the transportation from Nairobi to Masai Mara is either handled by your Safari lodge, requires a private driver, or in our case, requires renting a car (which turned into a whole adventure of its own).If you are truly a budget traveler, the Pilanesberg National Park is a good option for a self-drive safari that can be done in a day trip from Johannesburg, where you’ll find decent points hotel options. - Puerto Rico
As an (unincorporated) territory of the United States, the food and entertainment costs in Puerto Rico are fairly similar to the mainland US, but you also have some of the added costs that are typical to islands (because many things have to be transported in.)
Destinations I found less expensive than expected
- Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were countries that I’d somehow mentally grouped together with the reputation of the Nordic countries for being expensive. These destinations were actually on the cheaper side, comparable to or even a little cheaper than the US. Estonia is apparently where the Finnish go to party on a dime, for example.
- Poland, Portugal, and Spain are all countries that were a bit cheaper than I expected too. Especially for anyone who appreciates wine, you’ll find it quite a bit cheaper than the US.
This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but these are the destinations I remember feeling surprised by when attempting to do ordinary day-to-day things, outside of the reach of miles-and-points.
Where are some destinations that surprised you in terms of how expensive (or inexpensive) it was to travel?
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We visited Tulum a couple years ago – holy cow, NYC prices for food! It happened we were staying in an all-inclusive, thanks Daddy Hilton, but it hurt my soul.
Maybe obvious but parts of India were super cheap. Still my cheapest hotel (not counting on points) was in Kaziranga National Park – $1.50 / night.
Can someone explain to me why African safaris are so expensive? Is the rest of Africa cheap and just the safari locations expensive? I’m totally ignorant of travel in Africa (obviously)
low supply, high demand
The feeling I got from my (albeit limited) travel there was that the tourist infrastructure is mostly around the safari travel, which tends to attract high-end travelers rather than backpackers or budget-travelers. So with no budget travelers, there’s not really a budget traveler infrastructure. And I think domestic travel is not all that built up either. That’s at least the feeling I got from travel within Kenya and Namibia. (In South Africa there is a bit more of a varied tourist infrastructure, so budget travel may be easier there.)
If you’re interested in a safari on a budget, my wife and I really enjoyed self-driving in Kruger National Park. We’ve been twice, and both times we rented a car at JNB and drove, though you can also fly into Skukuza and rent a car there.
We stayed in cabins in the national park rest areas for under or around $100 per night. Food was very reasonably priced in those rest camps.
The park is very large, and the wildlife you’ll see varies from one area to another. Because you’re driving slowly, since there are animals, you can’t cover as much of the park in a single day as you might expect, so I’d recommend spending a couple of nights at a couple of different camps. I highly recommend staying at Lower Sabie. It was our favorite rest area by far and when we bring our kids someday, we’ll stay there again. I wouldn’t stay at Skukuza again as it just wasn’t well-kept and it was too big and not the same type of atmosphere. I probably would stay at Olifants again because that area of the park (and its cliffside views) is so significantly different than Lower Sabie (which sits on a river and has amazing wildlife viewing — you’ll hear hippos in the river all night long and see elephants playing in the river and have plenty of wildlife walking by), but I will say that finding a scorpion in our bathroom in the middle of the night at the Olifants rest camp was a little unnerving. The accommodations at Lower Sabie were very well kept (ten years ago, anyway).
You can also book park ranger-led excursions in the national park rest camps for very reasonable prices. That includes bush walks, game drives, etc. We enjoyed self-driving enough to go back 15 months after our first visit. It might be my favorite travel experience anywhere so far.
Recently tried to book a trip to Milan?? DL wanted $17,000 for D1 and most of the other carriers were very $$$$$$$$$$$$$ Not sure what was going on?? It is not fashion week till the end of Sept . I needed early Sept..
Italy, where I am at the moment, is surprisingly cheap with plenty of hotels for $80 out less s night for two. There are also still hotels that have genuine singles as well (I’m traveling with my brother in law) — we had one a few days ago for $51 a person in Anagni and at the moment we’re in a €100 pretty night apartment rental in Narnia.
Carrie: Frequent traveler here between the USA an Asia Pacific. Homes in the US ana Australia. Thinking about your Asia list. what’s your opinion about Singapore? I have traveled through there countless times. It’s one of my favorite cities in the world, but I have always regarded it as being quite expensive for the region… even moreso than Japan, Taiwan, and ROK (South Korea).
Yes, that’s how I remember it as well (though I admittedly have not been there in quite some time.) In my memory, it was as expensive as any city in the US (and more expensive than Japan, for example.)
I think it depends on what you’re after. I stayed at a capsule hotel there on a challenge, and hawker center food is really cheap. You can spend a lot of money in Singapore, but you don’t need to. Transportation is also relatively reasonable (not like Thailand/Vietnam/other SE Asia prices, but a lot less than Japan).
The season you travel may have an effect on the cost. We went to Taiwan (Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung) January 2025 and January 2026 and found the country quite inexpensive. All the independent 4-star hotels we stayed at were under $100. The food was among the cheapest in SE Asia.
My wife and I have been visiting Krakow for around five years now. The prices are still not bad but are nowhere as reasonable as a couple of years ago, regardless of exchange rates.
Even the Poles are saying “Poland is not cheap anymore”.
So where in SE Asia? Thailand , Vietnam, curious what countries and cities are favorites and cheap! Thanks, looking forward to responses!
Thailand is getting a bit more expensive now than 10 years ago (but so is the rest of the world). all of those SE Asia countries are generally a lot cheaper than most other countries, especially when you consider what you can get for what you pay for. A lot of the Thailand hotels fall right around the $300 mark for Amex FHR and imo are astronomically better than western hotels at the same and even higher price range.
Cambodia & Laos are both cheap if you don’t stay at the super-fancy resorts.
In the last twelve months, I visited Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. All were inexpensive, culturally fascinating, welcoming, and endlessly yummy! I mostly used CapOne points for hotels in this region, as I wanted something close to the local culture (specifically not a big chain). I absolutely loved Siem Reap, Cambodia and Penang, Malaysia. Both offer the chance to feel immersed in the local culture, food, and life of the area. Not a lot of tourists there, so locals are thrilled and thankful to have you visit.
(I also visited Singapore in the last year, but it was not inexpensive and I did not find it particularly appealing or interesting; one of the few countries I have no desire to visit again–but that is just my opinion.)
I have a lot of thoughts on SouthEast Asia specifically, so I may do a full post about this in the near future – though the short answer is: Vietnam and Cambodia are at the top of my list as easy-wins regardless of what you’re after (beaches, food, history, everything), but Thailand and Bali may be better entry-level destinations for a person’s first time in Asia. All very cheap and easy to travel through. (Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) is an honorable mention as a great option if you don’t have much time and want to see something culturally interesting but don’t have time to venture outside of the city.)
@Carrie. We kinda of lucked into Pilanesberg National Park – we ended up skipping -self driving PNP – and went with early morning guided game drives – saw the Big five on our first deive – it helps- the guides interact with other guides and know where to look for game at their frequent haunts. It was much more enjoyabke – we would definitely self drive Kruger.
Most people have never heard of Pilanesberg National Park. Its far less crowded than Kruger. Lots to do in the area between Sun City and Jo’burg.
Japan is super cheap aside from trendy restaurants and western hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto and Kyoto… Outside of that hotel rooms and food everywhere else on the islands are super cheap and mostly good quality… Of course SE Asia is known for bargains as well. Just need to venture away from that main tourist belt. Hiroshima was awesome and cheap, even Nara had some great bargains. And there is so much more to that amazing country to visit
We just got back from a long trip to Japan a couple of months ago, and I agree with you. It was much cheaper than I expected once we got outside Tokyo and Kyoto. And the less touristy areas were much more interesting anyway. For example, we had an amazing Airbnb in the hills outside of Nagano that would have been at least $500 per night in the US, but was less than $200 per night there. And Shikoku and Western Honshu were both beautiful and cheap and we rarely saw any American tourists.
even going to Kanazawa and Takayama/Shirakawago was a nice break away from the crowds of Toyko/Kyoto
We loved Takayama. The Higashiyama Walking Course through the Temple Town area was one of the highlights of the trip and almost nobody there. A huge two bedroom Airbnb overlooking the river just north of the morning market was $138 per night including taxes in May.
Agreed – Japan is much cheaper these days, though the transit costs still adds up in my experience. The transit systems are incredible, but not necessarily cheap. At least as I recall (though my last visit was a few years ago.)
We are headed to French Polynesia next month for 10 days. Flights and six hotel nights booked with points and miles. My goodness! The food and drink prices are outrageous! Thankfully we are staying at all Hilton properties and since I have Diamond status (thanks to the Aspire card) all of our breakfasts are free. Based on the prices I have researched ($40-$60 per person per day) we are saying hundreds of dollars just on breakfast.
The best island to visit in French Polynesia is Moorea, and (if you can use award miles to get there) it can be well enjoyed as a mid priced destination. Avoid spending millions of Hilton points and use the highly rated Airbnb gites for about $100/night. Most of these have cooking facilities and get you out of the sterile, overpriced international tourist bubble. The island’s food trucks are delicious and affordable. Rent a car at the Papeete airport, put it on the ferry to Moorea and explore the island and its beaches for a modest sum.
This winter we are also headed to Tahiti (Conrad BOB 5 nights FNC – we both have multiple Aspires. May pivot to an AirBNB – heard its cheaper and less headache to rent PPT and ferry with to Moorea.
IRCC – the hitel transfer to/from Conrad is almost as much as flight PPT-BOB.
Need to start locking in more plane – have flights and most hotel bookings handled..
I did Moorea as my prehoneymoon. Took the car ferry over from PPT to Moorea and had a great stay at the InterContinental Moorea (RIP). I call Moorea the poor man’s bora bora 🙂
Moorea is the favorite of the 8 or so that I’ve been to, but, unless you’ve been to them all, why is it the best? (It is a great combination of things that the other islands have and is easy to get to from Tahiti, but I’ve heard great things about Huahine too, and I’d love to see Fatu Hiva)
Moorea is the best from a cost/benefit perspective. It’s not the best if, say, you’re looking for a luxury vacation and want everything to be arranged for you.
And between July and November in Moorea, you can swim with humpback whales! In fact, I think today is the first day of the season.
I didn’t spend millions of points. I spent 480,000 points and a FNC to get 6 nights in Conrad Bora Bora (that was before they raised the standard award prices to 200K). Then we are spending 3 days in Mo’orea in an OWB which we are paying with cash. It’s a bucket list item!
I agree with those recommending Moorea, and to your point about French Polynesian food prices, I ate a lot of packet ramen (which I brought with me) in French Polynesia to get around the expensive and limited food options there. :-/
If you’re going to the Hilton Moorea, look up Aoy Thai Food just down the road. Cheap and delicious, and you can watch the guy cooking it up in a chef’s hat right in front of you. There’s a reason it has 4.9 stars on Google Maps, and it’s not that they bought the reviews. I think they only have 2 things on the menu each day, so you get what you get, but you want it, even if you’re not sure that you want it.
Thanks!
Mexico, with a strong peso and boatloads of rich American visitors, ain’t as cheap as it used to be. Mexico City and most of the beach destinations can cost quite close to what you would pay in the States, and about 5x more than you’d pay in SE Asia.
If it’s in you, try wwoofing: work on a farm or vineyard for a couple of weeks. Many of these have very nice accommodations and cover all of your meals. It works particularly well in countries where paid employment must always be on a contract (think Germany). The local government is cool with the arrangement as well. A fantastic deal, great work, and unbelievably good connections with locals.